When walking into the gym, the first thing people see is the cardio equipment. I’ll be the first to admit it ran through my mind, which cardio equipment works the best? I personally use the treadmill, because when I get on the elliptical I don’t feel like a get a good workout. Running three miles on the treadmill you can see the workout because I sweat. Compared to when you do three miles on the elliptical, all I feel are my legs burning but your body just doesn’t feel like it got the same workout. So both sound like some kind of workouts but which one is generally better? This question has been around for more than 10 years. “Experts say treadmills give your workout the extra oomph of a motor, while elliptical promise a smoother ride and both have their champions,” by Reuters. These two different machines offer similar benefits, but are used for different reasons even though they are both cardio machines, The website Built Lean has the answers.
There is a website called Built Lean http://www.builtlean.com/ and is very helpful when comparing the two machines. First is the treadmill pros, the treadmill has been around since the 1800’s and offers versatility, provides natural movements since some machines have people in awkward positions, high workout output depending on the program running, and helps strengthens bones and muscles that are beneficial as the person ages. The cons of working out on the treadmill, is different for every active person. First, if the person running is older, and never ran on a treadmill or had joint injuries the treadmill will be rough on the joints. Although treadmills look like, the belts can change the way the person runs messing up the person’s posture. Another problem could be if someone wants to check their heart rate they have to hold onto the treadmill and it makes running awkward or uncomfortable for the runner. The last thing is that if the runner is inexperienced and tries to run at high speed on an incline they can seriously hurt themselves, but that is a given.
On the same website it also gives the pros and cons of an elliptical as well! The website Built Lean, states that the pros of the elliptical is that you won’t get the impact on your joints the way a treadmill will so I assume this would be better if you have joint problems. Another pro is cross training ability which is just means it allows you to work out your upper body along with your lower body. The one pro I do not agree with is the reverse stride the elliptical allows. I have seen athletes use the treadmill to do reverse strides, but again they have to be experienced in this but my point is that is it possible to do after practice. The cons of the elliptical I believe will make you want to run to a treadmill though realizing what is really going on while working out. First, if you go fast enough on the elliptical and want to “cruise it” so to speak, the machine’s momentum will keep moving on its own for awhile before slowing down, and all the person has to do is just let the machine move his or her legs, saying that the machine can do a portion of the workout for you and you will not benefit from it at all. I know I’ve done it before. I will go really fast or with a heavy resistance just so when my legs begin to burn I won’t have to work to hard because the machine will keep moving for some time on its own. But, if you do this on a treadmill, you will simply fly off the treadmill and hurt yourself, so the treadmill pushes you to keep running or jum on the side rails there is no cheating.
After reading this article about Elliptical vs. Treadmill: Which is Better? By Kevin Deeth, CPT on the Built Lean http://www.builtlean.com/ you can see it might not be so much which is better, it has more to do with which one will you receive a more comfortable workout so your joints won’t hurt, and which improves your posture. And if the question was which one will burn more calories the website says that also, on the treadmill running for an hour the runner can burn 700 to 800 calories and the elliptical will range somewhere between 700-750 calories. Both would have to be at high interval training. So that is the bottom line, it is not which machine works better; it is which machine provides the most comfort and what level you push yourself.
On the same website it also gives the pros and cons of an elliptical as well! The website Built Lean, states that the pros of the elliptical is that you won’t get the impact on your joints the way a treadmill will so I assume this would be better if you have joint problems. Another pro is cross training ability which is just means it allows you to work out your upper body along with your lower body. The one pro I do not agree with is the reverse stride the elliptical allows. I have seen athletes use the treadmill to do reverse strides, but again they have to be experienced in this but my point is that is it possible to do after practice. The cons of the elliptical I believe will make you want to run to a treadmill though realizing what is really going on while working out. First, if you go fast enough on the elliptical and want to “cruise it” so to speak, the machine’s momentum will keep moving on its own for awhile before slowing down, and all the person has to do is just let the machine move his or her legs, saying that the machine can do a portion of the workout for you and you will not benefit from it at all. I know I’ve done it before. I will go really fast or with a heavy resistance just so when my legs begin to burn I won’t have to work to hard because the machine will keep moving for some time on its own. But, if you do this on a treadmill, you will simply fly off the treadmill and hurt yourself, so the treadmill pushes you to keep running or jum on the side rails there is no cheating.
After reading this article about Elliptical vs. Treadmill: Which is Better? By Kevin Deeth, CPT on the Built Lean http://www.builtlean.com/ you can see it might not be so much which is better, it has more to do with which one will you receive a more comfortable workout so your joints won’t hurt, and which improves your posture. And if the question was which one will burn more calories the website says that also, on the treadmill running for an hour the runner can burn 700 to 800 calories and the elliptical will range somewhere between 700-750 calories. Both would have to be at high interval training. So that is the bottom line, it is not which machine works better; it is which machine provides the most comfort and what level you push yourself.
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